look backwards, a quick review of the spot in her memory, before she could understand the inevitable truth. If Vincenz Komers had turned to the left of the signal, he must have been lost. There was no possibility of escape, no margin left for hope.

It was very quick, that mental review and conclusion. She had stood for a moment fixed and motionless, all her powers of thought concentrated upon one point; then she staggered up to a tree, and remained there with her back against it. There was no colour in her face, and no sound coming from her lips. If she had been a man, she would have struck him down where he stood; if she had been a Sibyl, she would have cursed him; if she had been a heroine of romance, she would have upbraided him at least with bitter words: but being only a weak girl, she did nothing and said nothing. She only stood confronting him, white and rigid, with her hands clasped convulsively across her breast, with pale lips parted and grey eyes dilated.

The very excess of the feelings which overpowered her took all expression, almost all intelligence, from her eyes; stupid and vacant, they stared back into his. There was scarcely a sign of life about her, but for the helpless twitching at the corners of her mouth. What can we do when our power of expression falls so far short of what we would express? Because she could not find words strong enough to utter, Gretchen uttered none at all.

Tolnay stood before her, grinding the heel of his boot deep into the moss, and gnawing his under lip fiercely.

a

Above her head there was flutter of great wings, and an owl flapped out into the darkness, cry

est.

ing Uhu-uhu, through the forThat sound roused her; her stiffly clasped hands dropped down, and the blood began to mantle faintly in her cheek. A shivering cry broke from her lips. Back upon her fancy rushed all those fearful pictures which had haunted her before, but this time they came as a certainty; and with them came a sense of pity, so aching, so keen, as to be almost intolerable. The wild clutch in the air—and then everything quiet! She had thought before that she was hopeless; she knew now how much she had still hoped a few minutes ago, before this word of certainty had been spoken.

When she looked up, Tolnay had come two steps nearer to her.

"You wanted to know what sort of man I am-do you know it now? I have told you what I have done; ask yourself why I did it. Do you imagine that such love as this can be baffled? Do you think that a man who has not stopped at a crime, will stop at anything less? I have proved my love well-ha, ha! What proofs has that German

ever given you which could weigh against this one? Do you dare now to say that you will not belong to me, and that you will not love me?"

There was a wild triumph breaking out in his voice; it made Gretchen shrink away further, in unutterable disgust.

"I never loved you," she said trembling; "and now I hate you."

"Ha! do you say that? Then call together your friends and point to the murderer. Do you hesitate? I shall not hide myself. Tell it to the world, if you are so minded. But"-he came a step nearer, and lowered his voice"what you will not tell them, I know, is, that it is you who have made me do it."

"Foolish!" laughed István roughly. "You have milder words for yourself than for me; you are only foolish, but I am criminal. Criminal I may be, but we are partners in crime at least. I claim your partnership. What have you meant with the smiles you have given me? What have you meant with your glances?"

"Nothing-nothing. Yes, I am guilty; but oh, spare me, Baron Tolnay-be merciful!”

"Have you had mercy with me all this long summer? I shall deal to you the same pity that you have dealt to me."

She was silenced. Yes, it was all true. She had played with him, she had led him on-O God! and was it this that she had led him to Quite dumb she stood before him; her anger even was dead within her. It was he now who was the judge, and she the sinner. There was not one word which she could say in her defence. How tell him the truth? How confess that his fortune and not himself had been the stake for which she had played? And at this moment it seemed to Gretchen's roughly awakened conscience, that of the two István was indeed the lesser criminal; and that. if the blood of Vincenz Komers cried for vengeance, it was upon her head alone that the vengeance must fall.

The pang of remorseful pain which stabbed her was so sharp, that she could do nothing but bow her head and suffer it in silence.

She deserved it, as she deserved each bitter word from Tolnay's lips.

And Tolnay did not spare her. Now at least his suppressed excitement broke out uncontrolled. His reproaches were fierce and cutting. He was a changed man altogether from the smooth Baron Tolnay of the salon and ball-room. The thin coat of varnish was pierced through, and close beneath it there lay the raw nature of a savage. His education and his principles were such as enabled him to shine very brilliantly in society, but they were not such as could restrain him at a moment like this. It was a very bright polish which he wore on the surface, but its quality could not stand the test of passion. There was rage and bitterness in what he said, and yet there was no word which spoke of remorse for the deed which had been done. Gretchen might well have wondered, as she had wondered often, what element it was which was missing in his nature. It was a very simple element indeed. was only that he had no conscience. She had fancied that she saw this more than once before, but she had never believed that the want could be as total as it was here. Owing to the constitution of his mind, rather than to a personal reluctance, he would not have been capable of a premeditated crime -as little as he would have been capable of a premeditated act of any sort; but under a momentary influence he was capable of anything, and he had been capable of this.

It

He paused at last in his wild reproaches, and looked for her to speak; but she had covered her face with her hands, and stood before him immovable and silent.

"And now your answer-I am

waiting for it; what have you to say?"

"Only to beg that you should leave me," she faltered, looking up. "Gretchen!" There was a new menace in his voice; the wildness was breaking out afresh. "You dare not reject me, Gretchen!"

"I am guilty-very guilty," she said, trembling ; "but heaven knows I can give you no other answer."

He dashed the lighted lantern to the ground, so that the glass shivered and the flame went out.

"And both heaven and hell know that I have lost my soul for the love of you; and neither heaven nor hell shall cheat me of the prize!"

His excitement was rising; but at this moment he checked himself, for there were sounds in the forest. Both he and Gretchen had forgotten how near they were by this time to the more frequented paths, and the voices of some woodcutters returning late from the hills struck upon them both with surprise. Gretchen uttered an exclamation of relief; Tolnay ground an oath between his teeth.

"Let it be for to-day; but we shall speak again-this is not the end. We have not done our reckoning yet; this night's work must be complete. Never think that I regret. Were it undone at this moment, I should begin it again; but there is no need-the work is well done. You may not be mine, but you can never be his. you who are victor, or am I?” And without waiting for any

Is it

word of hers, István turned and vanished down the pathway.

Gretchen sank on her knees, half fainting, by the tree-stem. She was not far from home now; but she was so weak, that she could not stand longer. She was so worn out and sick at heart, that she sobbed helplessly in the dark.

Thinking of the man she loved, lying dead and alone, she prayed to God at this moment that she might die also. Must he never know of her love, nor of how her heart yearned for one word or one look of his? Every detail of his manner and look, once so familiar and so despised, became now inestimably precious: she had scarcely thought of them until this moment, when that figure was for ever blotted out from her view. Ah! was it thus that her life's romance was to end? Was it thus that her love was to be slain? Had he died without one word from her?

Too late! Her chance was past. She knew it, as she crouched with her head against the tree-stem. The bats and moths darted under the branches; but to her fevered fancy they were not as ordinary bats and moths. The forest seemed peopled with flitting phantomshapes.

They circled high above her head, and shrieked through the air, "Too late! too late!" and swooping down, they flapped their demon wings in her face and moaned "Too late! too late! too late!"

GRAND HOTEL DE L'EUROPE, ST PETERSBURG, Aug. 11, 1884. How I am to tell you all that we have seen and done since our arrival here yesterday at 7 P.M., I know not, for at every instant some one comes in with orders, hints as to etiquette, or some message which requires close attention; but I think I shall have half an hour somehow, before we leave for Krasnoe Seló. Our journey, though very tedious after entering Russia, was uneventful. Our sleeping-cars from Berlin to the frontier were noisy, hot, and disagreeable. At the frontier (Wirballen) station we secured others, and found the Russian sofa-beds much the best. We never travelled more than twenty miles an hour, and our halts were frequent and long. From the moment we crossed the frontier, tea became our beverage, and the samovar smoked in readiness at every station, however small. Bread good; a sort of soup, in which among no end of vegetables cabbage was the most easily recognised, was really not bad; and my colleagues seemed to find the beer good. We had Colonel Chenevix Trench, the military attaché at Petersburg, with us;

The

and as he can speak Russian, he was of very great use, and has become a pleasant addition to our party. The country we traversed is as flat as Salisbury Plain, and absolutely without interest, save in the names of a few towns like Wilna, Pskof, Dünaburg, &c., each of which brings some historical incident to one's memory. sun was very powerful, but the air became lighter, and reminded us of Scotland as we went further and further north-till at last, after a short halt at Gatschina, where we substituted undress uniform for our dusty travelling clothes, I could see the cupola of St Isaac's Church, a golden speck in the distance; and after another quarter of an hour, found myself bowing and handshaking with various tall figures in uniforms of varied hue, but of unquestionably Russian type. A gorgeous Court footman, in an orange - and - red greatcoat and cocked - hat, seized my bag and cloak; others surrounded Rowland, my servant; while Colonel Low and Captain Davidson were similarly looked after. Passing through the royal waiting - room, I was handed into a very pretty victoria, drawn by two black long

tailed steppers, and with Captain Count Stenbock of the Garde à Cheval, who was to be attached to me during my visit, by my side, was whisked off through the broad uninteresting streets of the suburbs to this hotel.

CAMP KRASNOE SELÓ, ST PETERSBURG,

Aug. 11, 1884 (July 30, Russian time). Hurried off to the Embassy to pay my respects to Sir Edward Thornton, I left off with the announcement of my finding myself in a very comfortable room in the Hôtel de l'Europe. In three-quarters of an hour we had to be ready to dine with the officers of the various missions. Blue coat, sword, sash, &c., were donned, and I found myself for the moment the senior of the assembled party, as Prince Windischgrätz, who is a Feld-marschall-lieutenant of the Austrian army, and the French general and German general, who are my seniors, had not arrived. I had an agreeable Italian, General Sterpone, on my right, and the officer who looks after all the missions, Colonel Tchitchakoff of the staff, on my left, both speaking French.

As soon as dinner was ended, and coffee and cigarettes discussed, the carriages came round, and we started for a drive to the islands which lie between the branches of the Neva. The air was refreshing, and of course in this northern region, though it was 9.30, there was a twilight which was sufficient to enable one to see without difficulty; and the appearance of the huge buildings, and especially of the thin spires of the church of St Peter and St Paul, and the fortress on the first island, cut out as they were in sombre outline against the clear northern sky, was not without a certain charm. Our drive did not end thus sentimentally. On the fur

ther island, and on the northern bank of the river, is a sort of

lust - garten, called "Livadia." Here we alighted, and found ourselves among coloured lamps and crowds of the bourgeoisie regarding with admiration four female gymnasts, who were tying themselves in knots, and hanging from ceilings by their feet. Passing by this we reached a pretty little theatre, and from a smart box witnessed a very fair representation of "La Fille du Tambour Major" by a French company, who sang and acted well. This lasted an hour, and on going out we saw at another stage in the gardens a company of Bohemians in Russian costume, singing Russian national and gipsy songs, amid the rapt silence of the crowd. But these were said not to be the best Bohemians, so we were taken on to another cafe, where, in a rather low and stuffy room, we were treated to real Bohemian choruses. These singers-about a dozen men and the same number of women-were not in costume, but sang with wonderful taste; and though the extreme plaintiveness of most of the songs, sometimes varied by bursts of wild appeal, all too in a minor key, gave a weird character to the entertainment, the interest it aroused was (to me at least) so great that I forgot all fatigue. These Bohemian choirs are peculiar to St Petersburg and Moscow, and are heard nowhere else. The performers all have the gipsy type and the lithe figures and restless expressions of their race. And so at last homewards; the horses galloping through the now empty streets and over the bridges, the view from which at night of the Neva and its welllighted quays is really splendid. To bed at 2.30. Our orders were to dine next day at 12, and go